Postal and Treasury Savings Stamp Systems: The War Years

The Postal and Treasury Savings Stamp Systems and their associated stamps (and collection certificates and booklets) played an integral role in our country’s history during the twentieth century, especially during both World Wars. These savings stamp systems were in existence, in one form or another, from 1911 through 1970 – about sixty years. The Postal Savings Account System was officially abolished in 1966, but the sale of savings stamps for bond purchase continued until 1970. These systems raised billions of dollars for the government while giving the saver a fair, secure return on their money. The importance of these savings stamp systems to the war efforts cannot be over emphasized. They allowed everyone in the country, rich or poor, young or old to save and contribute to the war effort. School children saved pennies and brought stamps, workers brought stamps every payday, people took their change from store purchases in stamps – every where one looked there were reminders to contribute to the war effort through the purchase of war and postal savings stamps. The stamps were a convenient method to accumulate, a little bit at a time, the necessary money to buy savings certificates. This article traces the development of the Postal and Treasury Savings Stamp systems throughout their history with emphasis on the World War I and World War II periods.